Toyota’s heartbreak at te 24 Hours of Le Mans has left many nonplussed and even in complete disbelief as the their TS050 ground to a halt at the beginning of the race’s final lap. It was a surreal moment for the fan, let alone Kaz Nakajima in the car, the Toyota crew in the garage, and even Neel Jani in the race-winning Porsche as he slipped past in front hundreds of thousands of spectators on the front straight. It’s a heart-rending moment to watch and rewatch on the FIA WEC’s official highlights. But click through to see the highlights and finish that will have people talking about Toyota’s cruel fate at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.
There’s more to the story, of course. The race began under torrential downpour, prompting WEC race control to run the opening 50 minutes or so of the race—begun by honorary starter Brad Pitt, mind you—behind Safety Cars. When the race resumed, Mike Conway in the #6 Toyota put on a show against the LMP1 class competition from Audi and Porsche. Elsewhere, Ford and Ferrari engaged in a race-long melee with the #68 Ford getting the better of the sole remaining Ferrari from Risi Competizione for the GTE-PRO class win.
Elsewhere in that class, Tommy Milner crashed the #64 Corvette in a huge accident while both of the factory-supported Porsche 911’s blew up motors, including the #91 Porsche’s huge smoke-and-flame display. In the LMP2 class, Signatech Alpine rode their prototype to a quiet and smooth win while two big class competitors suffered their own cruel fates: KCMG’s blue-and-silver car suffered an engine failure while the Thiriet by TDS car crashed hard, ripping the whole nose off the car.
That’s just a smattering of the action from a 60-car field and there will likely be more stories to tell from the 24 hours of curb-clattering and fender-banging that make up the annual day-long classic.
